frivolous

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“
'Retirement,' says Disraeli, 'to the frivolous is a vast desert; to the man of genius it is the enchanted garden of Armida.'

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. adjective Unworthy of serious attention; trivial: a frivolous novel.
  2. adjective Inappropriately silly: a frivolous purchase.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

  • 'Retirement,' says Disraeli, 'to the frivolous is a vast desert; to the man of genius it is the enchanted garden of Armida.' —  The Book-Hunter at Home
  • Clement angrily rejected the appeal as frivolous, and Francis regarded this defiance of the Pope as an affront to himself in the person of his guest, and as the ruin of his attempts to reconcile the two parties. —  Henry VIII.
  • They resented her having no taste for their frivolous, decadent amusements. —  The Mask A Story of Love and Adventure
  • Some vapid, frivolous, and would-be fashionable, but all full of kindly motive. —  Under Fire
  • He made none either; he only said We're very frivolous, the way we chatter. —  The Tragic Muse
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

trivial ·  foolish ·  idle ·  extravagant ·  thoughtless ·  vain ·  reckless ·  unjust ·  senseless ·  worldly ·  petty ·  wanton
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, probably from Latin frīvolus, of little value, probably from friāre, to crumble.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Latin frivolus, silly, empty, trifling, frivolous, worthless: see frivol, adjective
 

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/ˈfrɪvələs/
by American Heritage
by Lee Davis-Thalbourne

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